Going Home

This song was sung by Chief Petty Officer Graham Jackson as President Franklin D. Roosevelt's body was born past in Warm Springs, GA April, 1945. The youtube posted is of Paul Robeson singing it. I couldn't find a rendition from Graham Jackson, but you can see the tears streaming down his face. This song is so beautiful and moving.

Giving Scandal

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Garden_of_Earthly_Delights

One doesn't hear much about "Giving Scandal", from any source. So, today, when I read Terry Nelson's journal piece on this subject, it gave me pause -- a moment to reflect. The only time I ever heard a pastor talk about "giving scandal" was when he gave a homily on calumny. I had no idea what that word meant, but he went on to explain that a child had come to him in confession the day before saying that his mother told him that Father was a bad priest because he just bought himself a new car. I have never seen a priest express so much anger from the pulpit - we certainly went away that day knowing that to commit calumny was a grave sin; add to that corrupting a child's mind with gossip. As it turns out, the car was a gift to Father from his Mother and Father.
2284 Scandal is an attitude or behavior which leads another to do evil. The person who gives scandal becomes his neighbor's tempter. He damages virtue and integrity; he may even draw his brother into spiritual death. Scandal is a grave offense if by deed or omission another is deliberately led into a grave offense.


2285 Scandal takes on a particular gravity by reason of the authority of those who cause it or the weakness of those who are scandalized. It prompted our Lord to utter this curse: "Whoever causes one of these little ones who believe in me to sin, it would be better for him to have a great millstone fastened round his neck and to be drowned in the depth of the sea."86 Scandal is grave when given by those who by nature or office are obliged to teach and educate others. Jesus reproaches the scribes and Pharisees on this account: he likens them to wolves in sheep's clothing.87


2286 Scandal can be provoked by laws or institutions, by fashion or opinion. Therefore, they are guilty of scandal who establish laws or social structures leading to the decline of morals and the corruption of religious practice, or to "social conditions that, intentionally or not, make Christian conduct and obedience to the Commandments difficult and practically impossible."88 This is also true of business leaders who make rules encouraging fraud, teachers who provoke their children to anger,89 or manipulators of public opinion who turn it away from moral values.


2287 Anyone who uses the power at his disposal in such a way that it leads others to do wrong becomes guilty of scandal and responsible for the evil that he has directly or indirectly encouraged. "Temptations to sin are sure to come; but woe to him by whom they come!" - CCC (from Abbey Roads Blog)

The New Feminism

Perhaps you have heard the term and have been wondering about what this “New Feminism” stuff is all about. Many have pegged it a “Catholic-thing” since the name is largely attributed to a quote by John Paul II in Evangelium Vitae (The Gospel of Life) where he calls for a ‘new feminism’.
However, New Feminism is not just something for us Catholic girls. It is for all women. The principles of New Feminism should resonate with all women because at the heart of it all is a call for us to embrace our feminine call to mother. We are all called to mother, not always physically, but always with great love and acceptance for others. Our feminine contribution of unconditional love for others is what will bring about a true
Pope Paul VI pleaded and implored women in the 1965 Second Vatican Council’s closing address, ”Reconcile men with life and above all, we beseech you, watch carefully over the future of our race. Hold back the hand of man who, in a moment of folly, might attempt to destroy human civilization.”
New Feminists are needed to restore the balance that has been lost in recent decades. When woman decided to grasp at masculine qualities and abandon her own “feminine genius,” our world lost sight of “otherness” and became exceptionally self-focused. We ended up with abortion, contraception, and divorces ripping families apart. Children have suffered terribly in this world where feminine responsibility has been eschewed.
Our world needs motherhood. This is not to say that women can only live out their femininity in the home caring for children; it simply means that to be female is to be a sort of mother to our race, in whatever profession you happen to have. Motherhood does not have to be physical motherhood. The qualities that women naturally possess also lend themselves to spiritual and adoptive motherhood of those all around us. A woman in politics, a woman in the business world, and a woman raising children all have the same responsibility to teach others about universal human dignity. We need people who simply love humanity unconditionally and will fight for every one of us like our own mothers would.
“In transforming culture so that it supports life, women occupy a place, in thought and action, which is unique and decisive. It depends on them to promote a “new feminism” which rejects the temptation of imitating models of “male domination”, in order to acknowledge and affirm the true genius of women in every aspect of the life of society, and overcome all discrimination, violence and exploitation.” (Evangelium Vitae, n. 99)
“”Reconcile people with life“. You are called to bear witness to the meaning of genuine love, of that gift of self and of that acceptance of others which are present in a special way in the relationship of husband and wife, but which ought also to be at the heart of every other interpersonal relationship. The experience of motherhood makes you acutely aware of the other person and, at the same time, confers on you a particular task: “Motherhood involves a special communion with the mystery of life, as it develops in the woman’s womb . . . This unique contact with the new human being developing within her gives rise to an attitude towards human beings not only towards her own child, but every human being, which profoundly marks the woman’s personality”. A mother welcomes and carries in herself another human being, enabling it to grow inside her, giving it room, respecting it in its otherness. Women first learn and then teach others that human relations are authentic if they are open to accepting the other person: a person who is recognized and loved because of the dignity which comes from being a person and not from other considerations, such as usefulness, strength, intelligence, beauty or health. This is the fundamental contribution which the Church and humanity expect from women. And it is the indispensable prerequisite for an authentic cultural change.” (ibid). source: http://www.ignitumtoday.com/?s=the+new+feminism. Leah Jacobson, author

Living my vocation

How to be faithful to God each day -- pray this prayer:
Lord help me to live my vocation to the fullest today.

Anne Hathaway sings, I Dreamed a Dream

Mother Mary and the extra key

Padre Pio used to tell a story: "One day Our Lord making rounds of Paradise saw some strange faces. He asked Peter: 'Who let these people in?' Peter: 'There is nothing I can do.' The Lord: 'But you have the key.' Peter: 'There is nothing I can do, and you can't do either.' The Lord: 'What do you mean?' 'It's your mother. She has another key. She let's them in.'

Advocata Nostra

Advocata Nostra, the oldest icon of Mary in Rome, at the Dominican Sisters Convent on Via Trionfale on Monte Mario. This icon can be traced back to its origin in Jerusalem, where tradition has it that it was painted by St Luke after the Resurrection, at the request of the apostles. But the tradition also states that after St Luke had sketched the outline, the image of Our Lady appeared on it. No human hand was involved. Such works are referred to as achiropita—'made without hands'.(http://holyfaceofmanoppello.blogspot.com/2011/03/true-face-of-mary.html)

Do Catholics Worship Mary?

From Fr.Z's blog: When you go into a Catholic Church and you see a big, splendid statue of Mary with flowers in front of it, a bank of candles lit before it and an old woman kneeling down, fervently praying her rosary it would seem to be what it looks like: the woman is worshipping a statue of Mary.

But if you ask the old woman if she is worshipping Mary she’d say, “Whataryatalkinabout?, I’m praying the rosary.”

So what is going on? First we have to define “worship”. From time immemorial worship was identified with a particular action: the action of sacrifice. Pagans worshipped their gods by making sacrifices to them. The Jews worshipped by making sacrifice to Jahweh.

The reason we moderns get confused about worship is that we’ve forgotten the principle of sacrifice so we don’t really know what worship is all about. This is understandable from Protestants because they got worried about the sacrifice thing 500 years ago and threw it out. What is most depressing is that most Catholics also don’t understand the “sacrifice is worship” idea either. They’ve been told the Mass is all about “the family of God gathering around the table of fellowship to increase their mutual self esteem and discuss peace and justice issues.”

Because of this nonsense the majority of American Catholics don’t have a clue what the sacrifice business is all about, and therefore they don’t know what worship is supposed to be about either. Like the neo-Prots that they are they have come to think that worship is all about hearing a sermon, singing some songs and praying.

Now we’re getting down to the reason why Protestants think Catholics worship Mary. They think worship and prayer are the same thing. Therefore, if you are praying to Mary you must be worshipping Mary.

Well, the Catholic faith has been around for a long time, and believe it or not, these questions have been asked before, and the Catholics have the answer. It goes like this: there are three categories of respect due in the realm of worship. They go by specific names: Latria, Dulia and Hyperdulia. Latria is worship. It is the worship that is due only to God. This worship consists of offering God our lives, our souls, our minds and our bodies as a living sacrifice (Romans. 12. 1-2) We do this pre-eminently through the sacrifice of the Mass.

Dulia is not worship. It is honor. We honor anyone who is eminent and accomplished. We honor them for their brains, their discipline, their wit, their achievement. We honor our parents and grandparents because we owe them that. We honor our loved ones. Part of this honor is that we ask them for things. We come to them with our needs. We look up to them. We respect them. They are our role models and mentors. We have a relationship to them of subservient honor. They are awesome to us. Dulia is also what we give to the saints and angels. We give them the honor that is due to them. As part of this we have a relationship with them. We ask them for things. This is called “praying to the saints.”

Hyperdulia is the honor we give to the Virgin Mary. We give her the highest honor because she is unique amongst all God’s creation. She is higher than the cherubim and seraphim. She is the only created being who was honored by God so greatly that his son took his flesh from her. She has totally unique place of honor in heaven and therefore also amongst all of God’s people on earth. The honor we give her, therefore, and the dulia we give her is higher than any other being. But it is not latria. We’re clear about that. We do not worship Mary. The sign of this is that we do not make sacrifice to her. You don’t find any Catholic priest offering a Mass to Mary. No. The sacrifice of the Mass is offered to God the Almighty Father.

This also should be understood clearly: the dulia and hyperdulia which we give to Mary and the saints is ultimately honor given to God. We honor the saints (including the Blessed Mother) not for who they are, but for who God made them to be. We honor in them the completed work of grace. We honor in them their faithful obedience, which itself is a gift from God. The Blessed Virgin says, “the Almighty has done great things for me!” We honor Mary and the saints because we are struck with delight and awe at the wonderful things God has done for them. As the moon reflects the sun, so the Virgin and saints reflect the light of Christ. Without him they are nothing. With him they have become divinized–sons and daughters of the Almighty Father.

Finally, we insist that it is proper devotion to the Blessed Virgin Mary which corrects all the other errors. Do you think it is a co incidence that as neo-Protestantism has grown in the Catholic Church that Marian devotion has been marginalized, limited sometimes even banned or prohibited? When Marian devotion plays its proper part in the life of the Church we also start to realize what real worship is, and how important the sacrifice of the Mass is to everything else. This is why, despite misunderstandings we come back time and again to thank God for Mary and to honor her as the greatest of all created beings.

The Authority of the Church?

I like to read Terry Nelson's blog, Abbey-Roads: I find it thought provoking and enlightening. Today he talked about the SCOTUS decision: here is what he said: "Reading other blogs and commentators, I'm struck by how not a few Catholics seem to believe Church teaching on sexuality and marriage must change - in fact, they predict it will change. They refer to the hierarchy as the old men in the Vatican with outmoded ideas and morality. They say that Church teaching is too negative, too prohibitive, and so on...". He quotes Matthew as bringing him solace: "... due to the increase of evil, the love of many will grow cold." Matthew 24:12.

A reader made this comment which really struck a chord for me:

Church teaching is not a "suggestion." Church authority is not a mere "guide" that you can choose to agree with or not to agree with. Infallible Church teaching, such as that which concerns what a human person is and what he is made for (which is ultimately the question regarding marriage), is something one either accepts as true or not. May one have, as Newman said, difficulties with it? Of course. But a thousand difficulties does not make one doubt.

I suppose you need to ask yourself what you really believe. Is the Church the Body of Christ? Does she speak for Christ here on earth, or not? If the answer is "yes" for both, it is not possible to disagree with her teachings, since her teachings are the teachings of Jesus Christ.

If the answer is "no" then I would say you are probably wasting your time claiming to be a Catholic. For if the ultimate authority on right and wrong is not the Church, but rather oneself, then there is no need for Church teaching, or the Church, or belief in God at all.

Dear God, have mercy on us all as we struggle to live in this secular and hateful age.

Reginald Garrigou-Lagrange, O.P.

Abbey Roads posted excerpts from Garrigou-Lagrange's writings today -- I liked them so well, that I re-posted them here: I would like to read more about this remarkable person.
If a man is fundamentally egotistical, his intimate conversation with himself is inspired by sensuality or pride. He converses with himself about the object of his cupidity, of his envy; finding therein sadness and death, he tries to flee from himself, to live outside of himself, to divert himself in order to forget the emptiness and the nothingness of his life. In this intimate conversation of the egoist with himself there is a certain very inferior self-knowledge and a no less inferior self-love.

The intimate conversation of the egoist with himself proceeds thus to death and is therefore not an interior life. His self-love leads him I to wish to make himself the center of everything, to draw everything to himself, both persons and things. Since this is impossible, he frequently ends in disillusionment and disgust; he becomes unbearable to himself and to others, and ends by hating himself because he wished to love himself excessively. At times he ends by hating life because he desired too greatly what is inferior in it - Garrigou-Lagrange
[P]ride is a bandage over the eyes of the spirit, which hinders us from seeing the truth, especially that relative to the majesty of God and the excellence of those who surpass us. It prevents us from wishing to be instructed by them, or it prompts us not to accept direction without argument. Pride thus perverts our life as one would bend a spring; it hinders us from asking light from God, who consequently hides His truth from the proud. - Garrigou-Lagrange

The Children of this Time

I just read an excellent article about how our children are being socially corrupted in our schools, The Pagans are Happy to Socialize Your Children, by Devin Rose posted on IGNITUM TODAY. It is well worth reading. Here are some excerpts:

"The pagans are happy to socialize your children, and will gladly do so if you send them to public school. In all likelihood, they will be socialized to conform to the prevailing culture, the zeitgeist, and not to Christ. Why? Because the secular society offers a competing vision for life and happiness, one largely at odds to the Christian gospel. Morally relativistic, consumer-driven, materialistic hedonism is appealing in countless ways."

"As a second step, I propose the solution that you offer a better culture to your children. A lively culture based on Christ and His Church, rooted in your family, in the milieu of a community of faith and love. Offer your children a place of beauty and truth, of warmth and welcome, of goodness and loveliness. Offer your children the truth of the Gospel as applied to every part of life."

"In practice, homeschooling offers a good way of doing this. And a good way of not ceding your parental care to others. Some combination of other types of schooling with homeschooling can also offer it. I have yet to see how a five-day-per-week, eight-hours-per-day, standard public school option can offer it. Mom and Dad aren’t allowed in the locker room, where the pagan kids are wanting to sodomize your son."

"Our country is firmly secular, and becoming more so everyday. Public schools are an indispensable apparatus of the state to indoctrinate children into a particular way of seeing the world, of seeing themselves, one that is in many ways antithetical to the Christian Faith."
(http://www.ignitumtoday.com/2013/06/24/the-pagans-are-happy-to-socialize-your-children/?utm_content=buffer85631&utm_medium=twitter&utm_campaign=Buffer&utm_source=buffer)

Words to Live by

The Parable of the Wise and Foolish Bridesmaids

"Jesus' conclusion to the parable [of the wise and foolish bridesmaids] emphasizes its lesson: constant alertness is necessary because it is impossible to pinpoint the time of the Lord's coming. The parable is a warning to the church, which consists of both wise and foolish disciples. Matthew's gospel highlights this parable because, for the church of Matthew, the return of Jesus has indeed been delayed. Jesus has not returned as swiftly as many in the early church anticipated. The church must learn to remain vigilant, anticipating the Lord's coming while its members perservere in faithful service and proclaim the kingdome to the nations." Matt 25:1-13 http://diglib.library.vanderbilt.edu/act-imagelink.pl?RC=54277
Schadow, Friedrich Wilhelm von, 1789-1862

Lee James Rigby, British Soldier

Because I couldn't leave the posting of the Muslim extremist standing as it was, I'm posting a picture of the poor soldier who suffered at their hands and lost his life. He has a baby son who will never know his father. It breaks my heart that these kind of vile acts are tolerated so willingly.

The Fanatics who threaten us.....

Published on May 22, 2013

MUSLIM EXTREMIST BEHEAD British SOLIDER in London.
A British soldier has been butchered on a busy London street by two Islamist terrorists, one of whom proclaimed afterwards: "An eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth."

In the first terrorist murder on the British mainland since the 7/7 suicide bombings of 2005, the men attempted to behead the soldier, hacking at him like a "piece of meat" in front of dozens of witnesses, before both were shot by police who took around 20 minutes to arrive.
After reading about this at The Crescat and Abbey Roads I searched around for confirmation and what my friends knew or thought about this terrible and vicious crime. My cousin posted the following by a German survivor of the holocaust during the Nazi reign:
The author of this email is Dr.Emanuel Tanya, a well-known and
well-respected psychiatrist.
_____________________________________________________

A man, whose family was German aristocracy prior to World War II,owned a number of large industries and estates.

When he was asked how many German people were true Nazis, the answer he gave can guide our attitude toward fanaticism.

'Very few people were true Nazis,' he said, 'but many enjoyed the return of German pride, and many more were too busy to care.
I was one of those who just thought the Nazis were a bunch of fools. So, the majority just sat back and let it all happen. Then, before we knew it they owned us, and we had lost control, and the end of the world had come.

My family lost everything. I ended up in a concentration camp and the Allies destroyed my factories.'

We are told again and again by 'experts' and 'talking heads' that Islam is the religion of peace and that the vast majority of Muslims just want to live in peace.

Although this unqualified assertion may be true, it is entirely irrelevant. It is meaningless fluff, meant to make us feel better, and meant to somehow diminish the spectre of fanatics rampaging across the globe in
the name of Islam.

The fact is that the fanatics rule Islam at this moment in
history.It is the fanatics who march. It is the fanatics who wage any one of 50 shooting wars worldwide

.
It is the fanatics who systematically slaughter Christian or
tribal groups throughout Africa and are gradually taking over the entire continent in an Islamic wave.
It is the fanatics who bomb, behead, murder, or honour-kill. It is the fanatics who take over mosque after mosque.
It is the fanatics who zealously spread the stoning and hanging of rape victims and homosexuals.It is the fanatics who teach their young to kill and to become suicide bombers.

The hard, quantifiable fact is that the peaceful majority,
the 'silent majority,' is cowed and extraneous.
Communist Russia was comprised of Russians who just wanted to live in peace, yet the Russian Communists were responsible for the murder ofabout 20 million people. The peaceful majority were irrelevant.

China's huge population was peaceful as well, but Chinese Communists managed to kill a staggering 70 million people..

The average Japanese individual prior to World War II was not a warmongering sadist. Yet, Japan murdered and slaughtered its way across South East Asia in an orgy of killing that included the systematic murder of12 million Chinese civilians; most killed by sword, shovel, and bayonet.

And who can forget Rwanda, which
collapsed into butchery. Could it not be said that the majority of Rwandans were 'peace loving'?

History lessons are often incredibly simple and blunt, yet for all our powers of reason, we often miss the most basic and uncomplicated off points:

Peace-loving Muslims have been made irrelevant by their silence.
Peace-loving Muslims will become our enemy if they don't speak up,because like my friend from Germany, they will awaken one day and find that the fanatics own them, and the end of their world will have begun.

Peace-loving Germans, Japanese, Chinese, Russians, Rwandans,Serbs, Afghans, Iraqis, Palestinians, Somalis, Nigerians, Algerians, andmany others have died because the peaceful majority did not speak up until
it was too late.

Now Islamic prayers have been introduced into Toronto and other public schools in Ontario, and, yes, in Ottawa too while the Lord's Prayerwas removed (due to being so offensive?) The Islamic way may be peaceful for
the time being in our country until the fanatics move in.

In Australia, and indeed in many countries around the world, many of the most commonly consumed food items have the halal emblem on them.Just look at the back of some of the most popular chocolate bars,
and at other food items in your local supermarket.
Food on aircraft have the halal emblem, just to appease theprivileged minority who are now rapidly expanding within thenation’s shores.

In the U.K, the Muslim communities refuse to integrate and thereare now dozens of “no-go” zones within major cities across the country thatthe police force dare not intrude upon.

Sharia law prevails there, because the Muslim community in those areas refuse to acknowledge British law.

As for us who watch it all unfold, we must pay attention to the only group that counts - the fanatics who threaten our way of life.

Soldier Praying Rosary

These Last Days News - May 9, 2013

Religious Groups Fear Christian Purge From Military...

"The battle, My child, will accelerate very shortly for there will not only be a great war of weapons of mankind, but it will be known soon throughout the world as a religious war." - Our Lady of the Roses August 21, 1974

Townhall reported on April 30, 2013:

Religious liberty groups have grave concerns after they learned the Pentagon is vetting its guide on religious tolerance with a group that compared Christian evangelism to “rape” and advocated that military personnel who proselytize should be court martialed.

The Military Religious Freedom Foundation is calling on the Air Force to enforce a regulation that they believe calls for the court martial of any service member caught proselytizing.

President Mikey Weinstein and others from his organization met privately with Pentagon officials on April 23. He said U.S. troops who proselytize are guilty of sedition and treason and should be punished – by the hundreds if necessary – to stave off what he called a “tidal wave of fundamentalists.”

“Someone needs to be punished for this,” Weinstein told Fox News. “Until the Air Force or Army or Navy or Marine Corps punishes a member of the military for unconstitutional religious proselytizing and oppression, we will never have the ability to stop this horrible, horrendous, dehumanizing behavior.”

Tony Perkins, president of the Family Research Council, told Fox News he was stunned that the Pentagon would be taking counsel and advice from the Military Religious Freedom Foundation.

“Why would military leadership be meeting with one of the most rabid atheists in America to discuss religious freedom in the military,” Perkins said. “That’s like consulting with China on how to improve human rights.”

The FRC has launched a petition drive urging Defense Sec. Chuck Hagel to protect the religious freedom of troops “and not to proceed with the purge of religion within the ranks called for by anti-Christian activists.”

Pentagon officials met with Weinstein and his group to discuss a policy called “Air Force Culture, Air Force Standards,” published on Aug. 7, 2012.

Section 2.11 requires “government neutrality regarding religion.”

“Leaders at all levels must balance constitutional protections for an individual’s free exercise of religion or other personal beliefs and the constitutional prohibition against governmental establishment of religion,” the regulation states.

Military leaders were admonished not to use their position to “promote their personal religious beliefs to their subordinates or to extend preferential treatment for any religion.”

Weinstein said it’s time for the Air Force to enforce the regulation – with zeal.

“If a member of the military is proselytizing in a manner that violates the law, well then of course they can be prosecuted,” he said. “We would love to see hundreds of prosecutions to stop this outrage of fundamentalist religious persecution.”

He compared the act of proselytizing to rape.

“It is a version of being spiritually raped and you are being spiritually raped by fundamentalist Christian religious predators,” he told Fox News.

He said there is a time and a place for those in uniform to share their faith – but he took issues with fundamentalism that he says is causing widespread problems in the military.

“When those people are in uniform and they believe there is no time, place or manner in which they can be restricted from proselytizing, they are creating tyranny, oppression, degradation, humiliation and horrible, horrible pain upon members of the military,” he said.

Perkins said the military regulations have “Weinstein’s fingerprints all over it.”

“It threatens to treat service members caught witnessing as enemies of the state,” he said, referring to a Washington Post article highlighting Weinstein’s meeting with Pentagon officials. “Non-compliance, the Pentagon suggests, even from ordained chaplains could result in court-martialing on a case-by-case basis.”

The Pentagon confirmed to Fox News that Christian evangelism is against regulations.

“Religious proselytization is not permitted within the Department of Defense, LCDR Nate Christensen said in a written statement. He declined to say if any chaplains or service members had been prosecuted for such an offense.

“Court martials and non-judicial punishments are decided on a case-by-case basis and it would be inappropriate to speculate on the outcome in specific cases,” he said.

Ron Crews, the executive director of the Chaplain Alliance for Religious Liberty, warns that the Air Force policy would “significantly impact the religious liberties of Air Force personnel.”

“Saying that a service member cannot speak of his faith is like telling a service member he cannot talk about his spouse or children,” Crews said. “I do not think the Air Force wants to ban personnel from protected religious speech, and I certainly hope that it is willing to listen to the numerous individuals and groups who protect military religious liberty without demonizing service members.”

In an interview with the Washington Post, Weinstein called proselytizing a “national security threat.”

“And what the Pentagon needs to understand is that it is sedition and treason,” he told the newspaper. “It should be punished.”

Perkins said it was troubling the Obama Administration would place so much trust in someone like Weinstein.

"Unfortunately, it appears our military is on a forced march away from the very freedoms they are sworn to protect,” he said. “This language from Weinstein that Christians who share their faith or offer comfort to others from their faith in Jesus Christ is "sedition and treason" is a treasonous statement in and of itself.”

But Weinstein said they count thousands of Protestants among their ranks – and said they are simply going after fundamentalists.

“As soon as we find a fundamentalist Muslim, atheist, Jewish person or anybody else, we will be happy to fight them – but so far they have been few and far between,” he said.

Lt. Gen. (Ret.) Jerry Boykin, an executive vice president with the Family Research Council, told Fox News that he’s deeply concerned by what he call a pattern of attacks on Christianity within the military.

“Mickey Weinstein has a very visceral hated of Christianity and those who are Christians,” he said. “He’d like to see it eliminated from the military entirely.”

If the Air Force policy is implemented, Boykin said Christians who speak of their faith “could now be prosecuted as enemies of the state.”

“This has the potential to destroy military recruiting across the services as Americans realize that their faith will be suppressed by joining the military,” Boykin said.

In the meantime, Weinstein and his group said they will continue to push for the Pentagon to fully implement its ban on proselytizing.

“There is a time, place and manner in which proselytizing is not only allowed, but it’s something we support among our Christian clients,” Weinstein said. “However, you can’t scream fire in a crowded theater and you can’t scream Jesus in a crowded theater at certain times, places, and in certain manners.”

"All who continue in the battle ahead must accept martyrdom. it does not, My child, necessarily mean death of your body, but it will mean persecution. Stand fast in the faith. Keep the faith in the hearts of those you love. Extend your charity of heart to all of your brother and sisters throughout the world. Pray a constant vigilance of prayer." - Our Lady of the Roses, October 2, 1974

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The way I wish women dressed today....

Consecration to the Immaculate Heart of Mary

"My Immaculate Heart will be your refuge and the way that will lead you to God." - Our Lady of Fatima

Visit to Australia

We just got back from a 35 day trip to Australia. I'm so happy that I got to see Australia (in person), but even happier to be home. I'm a home person that's for sure. I'll post some of the pics. It's truly a beautiful country and worth seeing at least once in a lifetime. We had a wonderful host (our youngest son's friend), who drove us everywhere for a week and his lovely fiance made us feel at home and was very kind to us. Some of the highlights were Canberra (the capital) and the surrounding countryside. We got to visit a sheep farm and meet some very friendly people; saw a few mobs of kangaroo and learned about some of their destructive behaviors (at least on sheep farms); visited the coast including Wollongong (I love their names for places). This is a beautiful seaside town; In Kiama we stayed at a warm and friendly B&B out in the country -- lots of cattle and so green. Then we had our adventure in the blue Mountains in Katoomba -- rode on an extremely pitched rail ride up the mountain(kind of scary); took a sky bucket across the canyon-- beautiful site of the three sisters and canyons; walked all over the trails and saw lots of interesting plants and birds. I wanted to see other animals but no luck. After Katoomba and Kiama we braved the traffic in Sydney - one of the second most expensive cities in the entire world. Sydney is beautiful in its own way -- similar to any huge city like New York, or Hong Kong.
Our host finally deposited us at our ship and it was sad leaving him (now dubbed our Australian son); we spent three weeks on the ship cruising from island to island - some of them being Fiji, Samoa, American Samoa, New Caledonia, Kauai, Oahu, Vancouver, Seattle, then took a plane trip home. I think I'm home for a long time now -- not stirring from my nest!

Go and sin no more

Why I am a Catholic

What brought me to the Catholic Church was Jesus! Jesus in the Holy Eucharist! Never was there a happier day for me, than when I discovered that He was truly present in the bread and in the wine. My soul was filled to overflowing with the thrill of this discovery. No other protestant sect could or ever assured me of this fact. Yes, there are many other beautiful truths about the Catholic faith; but, for me, if it weren't for the transubstantiation, I would still be a drifter in a sea of many divergent beliefs.

Palm Sunday

Today the priest ushered us into the sanctuary while we waved the ribbons of palm leaves and sang a joyous hymn. I wonder how Jesus felt. Did he feel jubilant? happy? Think for a moment how you would really feel if transported back in time to the city of Jerusalem, exactly at that moment, watching Jesus the Christ riding upon a donkey, the sun beaming down, the air is hot and stifling from the crowds surrounding him; the cacophony of discordant sounds, the jostling crowds, the smells assailing your nostrils; but, all of that pales in comparison to seeing Jesus the Messiah, the Redeemer, the Son of God - for just a glimpse of Him passing by. Oh, what I wouldn't give for that moment. Next Friday we celebrate the Lord's passion and contemplate the events surrounding his final day on earth - it involves betrayal, torture, execution, and of course, the resurrection.

Pope Francis

Dressed in simple white vestments, the 76-year-old pontiff delighted pilgrims by zipping through St. Peter's Square in an open-backed jeep for about half an hour before the ceremonial events began, waving and kissing babies handed up to him. At one point, he dismounted and went over to lay hands on a disabled man while Swiss Guards tried to keep the crowd behind barriers.
For posterity and so that I can come back here and read what he said on the day of his installation as Pope, these are his words said that day:
"Let us be protectors of creation, protectors of God's plan inscribed in nature, protectors of one another and of the environment," the pope said. "Let us not allow omens of destruction and death to accompany the advance of this world!"
He called on government leaders, and himself, to "protect all of God's people and embrace with tender affection the whole of humanity, especially the poorest, the weakest, the least important."
"To protect creation, to protect every man and every woman, to look upon them with tenderness and love, is to open up a horizon of hope," he said, with majestic St. Peter's Basilica behind him. "It is to let a shaft of light break through the heavy clouds."
"Let us never forget that authentic power is service and that the pope, too, when exercising power, must enter ever more fully into that service which has its radiant culmination on the cross," Francis said. "He must be inspired by the lowly, concrete and faithful service which marked St. Joseph."
Read more here: http://www.sacbee.com/2013/03/19/5276497/pope-francis-focuses-on-poor-and.html#storylink=misearch#storylink=cpy

Pope of the people

I like this pope's style! Blessed are the poor in spirit and blessed are the merciful. Read these words of Pope Francis:
“Never forget this: the Lord never tires of forgiving us. Have you thought about the patience that God has with each of us?” These were the words that Pope Francis addressed to the nearly 200,000 people who had travelled from around Italy and from around the world in previous days to be able to live this first Angelus with the new Pope.

Pope Francis

Archbishop-Cardinal Jorge Bergoglio from Argentina. Our first Latin American, first Jesuit, and first Francis has been elected as our next pope. I am so happy to hear this! Give God the praise and glory.

Befriending the Stranger

Our lives are moulded and fashioned
by all the graces we have received or refused;
by all the gestures of love as well as the acts of hatred
or indifference;
by our successes as well as our failures.
Absolutely everything is engraved in our being.
So the experience of being loved by God
does not change our lives completely,
yet something is changed
when we realize that God loves us just as we are,
not as we would like to be
nor as our parents or society would have liked us to be.
God loves us today
with our gifts, our qualities, as well as our failures and our fragility.
If we have the impression people are disappointed in us
because we do not live up to their expectations;
if there seems to be a gap
between the way in which others perceive us
and who we really are,
between what we like to think we can do
and what we actually can do,
we need to discover God is never disappointed in us.
God knows us;
God knows our abilities and disabilities;
God knows we are a mixture of light and darkness.
Others may be disappointed
because they have an ideal image of Him,
but not God, who knows me today just as I am.
God does not live in the past or the future
but in the "now" of the present moment.
God sees me in my present reality
as I am in each present moment.

-Jean Vanier, Befriending the Stranger
(reposted from Abbey Roads blog)

'The Eucharist is my highway to Heaven!'

Repost from Abbey Roads: A fifteen-year-old Milanese youth, deeply devoted to Our Lady of the Rosary of Pompeii.

Carlo died at the age of fifteen due to leukemia, although it was only diagnosed days before he died. In this he reminds me of Blessed Pier Giorgio, who died of polio, although no one knew he was so seriously ill. Like Pier Giorgio, Carlo had overflowing crowds of mourners at his funeral. I think his story is very important for youth and young men especially - who need solid examples of authentic Catholic spirituality. I believe Carlo's witness demonstrates that holiness is indeed attainable in our anti-Christian, hedonistic culture. A maxim from Carlo states: "You must want it (holiness) with all your heart, and if this desire has not arisen in your heart, you must ask for it with insistence from the Lord." His example affirms for me that fidelity to the duties of one's state in life is the ordinary means to sanctity.


'The Eucharist is my highway to Heaven!'

"He is remembered by those who knew him for the enthusiasm with which he conveyed to others his love for God and the neighbor. At seven he did his First Communion and since then, every day, he has never missed the daily appointment with the Holy Mass, the Eucharistic Adoration and the Holy Rosary. The focus of Carlo’s spirituality was the daily encounter with the Lord in the Eucharist: he said It 'was Jesus truly present in the world, as at the time of the Apostles the disciples could see him in flesh and bones walking on the streets of Jerusalem'. Carlo often repeated: 'The Eucharist is my highway to Heaven!' This is the summary of his spirituality and the core of his whole existence spent in friendship with God.

"Carlo was very fond of the Virgin of Pompeii, where he came dozens of times, accompanied by his parents, and where each time he renewed his act of consecration to Mary. He used to say: 'The Madonna is the only woman of my life!', and he never missed 'the most loving appointment of the day', which was for him the prayer of the Holy Rosary.

"Some days before Carlo was led to the hospital, when no one suspected that he had leukemia which in a few days brought him to the grave, he told his parents: 'I offer all the suffering I will have to suffer to the Lord, for the Pope and the Church, for not to do Purgatory and go straight into Heaven'. The heroism with which he dealt with his illness and death convinced many people that really there was something special in him. When the doctor who followed him asked him if he suffered a lot, Carlo replied: 'There are people who suffer much more than me'.

"A continuous pilgrimage held a wake for his body. His funeral was attended by a crowd so immense that many were forced to remain outside the Church. The continuing testimonies, letters, stories, which still today arrive at the postulator of the Cause of Beatification, Dr. Francesca Consolini, appointed by the Curia of Milan, tell of an extraordinary young boy, blessed by grace, so much that the Archdiocese of Milan thought to propose him as a model for the young and to start the process in view of the introduction of the Cause of Beatification which, as you know, may begin 5 years after death. It results, in fact, that so many are those who ask the intercession and the aid of Carlo.

"From the testimonies collected a few days after his death, one discovers that Carlo was completely dedicated to the welfare of the people he met. He helped everyone: non-Community immigrants, beggars, disabled persons, elderly people, children. He was worried about his friends whose parents were divorcing and invited them to his house to support them; in the classroom he always took the defences of those who had more difficulty to integrate. On more than one occasion he defended the disabled that were taken around by frivolous boys.

"With great courage he defended the Christian values, even if this sometimes caused him misunderstandings. His professor of religion at the high school recalls that in a discussion in the classroom Carlo was the only one to oppose abortion.

"He had a great view of all persons and was concerned about how many wasted the talents that God had given them. On more than one occasion he affirmed: 'All are born with their own originality, but many die as photocopies'.

"This intense spirituality did not prevent him from having a normal life, common to that of his peers." - source: http://miraculousrosary.blogspot.com/2011/11/carlo-acutis-teenage-candidate-for.html and http://abbey-roads.blogspot.com/

Should we spank our children?

This article is from canterbury tales blog -- I thought it was worth reposting:
Summa theologiae, Supplementum Supplementi q. 54

Article. 1 Whether spanking children is lawful.

Objection 1. It seems that spanking children is not lawful because the Apostle states, “Fathers, do not provoke your children, lest they become discouraged” (Col 3:21) and again, “Fathers, do not provoke your children to anger, but bring them up in the discipline and instruction of the Lord” (Eph 6:4). Now physical injury is a provocation. Hence spanking children is not lawful.

Objection 2. Besides, the Psalmist sings, “thy rod and thy staff, they comfort me” (Ps 23:4). Now striking a child with the rod is not comforting. Hence, it is not lawful to spank a child.

Objection 3. Furthermore, God prevented Moses from entering the Promised Land because he angrily struck the rock of salvation with a rod (cf. Num 20:11). By this signification we learn that the rod denotes the species of anger that forfeits the divine promises on account of malice. Hence, it is not lawful to use the rod on children about which Christ spoke: “For to such belongs the kingdom of Heaven” (Mt 19:14) for in these words Christ speaks of a promise.

On the contrary, It is written: “He who spares the rod hates his son, but he who loves him is diligent to discipline him” (Prov 12:24) and again, “Folly is bound up in the heart of a child, but the rod of discipline drives it far from him” (Prov 22:15). Now the dutiful parent disciplines his child and drives away folly. Therefore, it is lawful to spank a child with the rod.

I answer that, striking a child may be accomplished in two ways. A parent may spank a child in wrath so as to injure the child, or a parent may spank a child in a spirit of charity and patience so as to fulfill the words: “he who loves him is diligent to discipline him.” Consequently, spankings administered in charity are virtuous and meritorious.

Reply to the First Objection. Here the Apostle speaks of wrathful provocation whereby the child is wounded. Now the correction of vice in a child is not a wound, but a cure. Hence, the Apostle does not denounce corporeal punishments.

Reply to the Second Objection. The rod comforts the Psalmist spiritually. As stated above, the removal of vice is comforting. Hence, corporeal punishment that seeks to mitigate vice is licit since it leads to spiritual comfort.

Reply to the Third Objection. Moses forfeited his right to the Promise Land by angrily bearing the rod of the Lord. Previously, the Lord also said to Moses: “And you shall take in your hand this rod, with which you shall do the signs” (Ex 4:17). Now rods can be used in two ways. Relatively speaking, rods are neutral in that they can be used for a good or a bad purpose. The rod of discipline, simply speaking, drives away folly, as stated above, and for this reason the Lord says, “with which you shall do the signs.” Hence the term “rod” need not denote wrathful indignation on the part of the one who bears the rod.

My Guardian Angel

oy vey iz mir; This is what I imagine my guardian angel saying when I do/say/think dumb things!